Randstad
The Randstad is an agglomeration in the Netherlands. It consists of the four biggest cities, and the surrounding areas. With its 7,1 million inhabitants (almost half of the population of the Netherlands) it's one of the biggest agglomerations in Europe. Its main cities are Amsterdam, Almere, Hilversum, Utrecht, Gouda, Dordrecht, Rotterdam, Delft, The Hague, Leiden and Haarlem.
The cities of the Randstad form more or less a chain. This chain gave the Randstad its name (Rand is Dutch for edge, Stad for city). The area that is surrounded by the larger cities is called the Green Heart (Groene Hart).
For the last decades, a major topic in the Randstad is the "conflict" between the major cities and the villages inbetween. These villages usually are much greener than the cities, house many commuters that work in the cities and strongly depend on them for facilities such as hospitals and large scale entertainment. Cities want space for expansion, yet villages fear to loose their identity and authority. Villages tend to cooperate to withstand this pressure and sometimes even fuse.
The discussion about the Green Heart is an other hot topic closely related to this one. On the one hand it should be protected, as it is considered a valuable rural area amongst cities. On the other hand however, many (richer) people like a house in a relatively quiet environment near the jobs and facilities of the Randstad.
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